F 







&^vty'-;^ji'i-^'^^Skfti^S^'.'?'';^;i:'^i^:'1-S''i^ 



^UU^nuzI (Ri...J.-L^^ Ja^ d^4u^ ^^JU^ 



/^J/ 




Glass, 
Book. 



hi 



?. 7 



EXAMINATION OF CERTAIN 

CHARGES AGAINST 

LEMUEL e. ARi:^X>LD5 ESCl, 
THE NATIONAL REPUBLICAN 

CANDIDATE FOR GOVERNORj 
BEING A 



OP 

n 



AFF0£NT;SB APHlIi 12 1831. 



PROVIDENCE, 1851 



^'-^j30 



f\J^ 



REPORT, &G 



Resolved, That William Pabodie, John Whipple, 
William Church, Zachariah Allen, Silvanus G. Mar- 
tin, Benjamin A born, Dexter Angell, Je.'-se Metcalf, 
Isaac Brown, William Sheldon, Mai hew Wal«on, 
Abner Peckham, and Henry R. Green, Esquires, 
be and they are hereby appointed a Ccnimiltee to 
enquire into, and as far as po^sible to trace to their 
origin, the ciiarges and reports which have been put 
in circulation, impeaching the moral character and the 
political principles and conduct of Lemuel Hastings 
Arnold, the candidate recommended by the National 
Republican State Convenlion for the office of Chief 
Magistrate; and that said Committee be requested 
to make their report by publishing the result of their 
investigations in the newspapers or otherwise. 

The above is a true copy of a resolution passed at 
a meeting of the National Republicans, holden in 
Providence on Tuesday evening, April_^12, I&31,in 
the Court House. 

Attest, PETER PRATT, Secretary. 

The Committee appointed by the foregoing resolii- 
tion, now make their Report in the manner therein 
directed. 

If it be true that a correct judgment of the sound- 
ness or unsoundness of a cause may, generally, be 
formed from the fair or foul means employed in its 
support — the honorable or dishonorable condiict of 
its advocates; there are few candid men who can bo 
at a loss to decide between the cause of the Van Bu 
ren or Fenner party, or, (as for present purposes it 
seems to prefer calling itself^) the Jackson, or admin- 
istration party, and that which has always, hereto- 
fore, been supported by a great majority of the Free- 
men of this State, as the true cause of national onion, 
national republicanism and self government. 



The Committee consider it greatly to the credit of 
our respected fellow-citizen, Lemuel Hastings Ar- 
nold, that, as soon as he had consented, (upon the 
nomination, and at the request of the National Re- 
publican State Convention,) to be presented to tl 
Freemen as a candidate for the office of Chief M 
istrate; (knowing tliat in every party there will l 
some whose zeal outstrips their discretion) he called 
upon the conductors of all the friendly presses in this 
town, and made it his serious request that, so far a» 
depended upon their example and influence, the ap- 
proaching political contest sliould be conducted in a 
fair, temperate and liberal manner; and that, espe- 
cially, every thing disrespectful, or of a personal char- 
acter towards tlie opposing candidate (Gov. Fenner) 
should be cnrefiliy avoided. The friends of Mr. Ar- 
nold also have approved of this manly course, and 
h'd\e joined in promoting it; and, Ave believe that it 
has been strictly adhered to. It is to be regretted 
that many of the opposite party, among whom we 
are compelled to include some, at least, of its princi- 
pal leaders, haveshe\^n (.hciuselves incapable of ap- 
preciating such honorable conduct, or following so 
wholesome an exjunple. It is not to be pretended 
that the broken down, dependant conductors of tlie 
inferior class of printing presses are left entirely un- 
regulated and uiiadvised, to fohow thi'ir own sugges- 
tions, and to publish whatever they ])lease without 
consulting those in whose service tliey are employed, 
or regarding; their wishes when expressed. On the 
coidrary, it is well known that they are under the 
entire management ol' their })olitical patrons and par- 
ty leaders, and are furnished by them, and by para- 
graph Nvrite'is rownteuanced bv them, with the bulk 
of the political articles which are published in their 
papers. This Ix'ing t!ie case, what a picture docs 
it present of the character of the party lia\ iiig the con- 
trol arnl diicction of those presses! scarcely a paper 
has iv,sue<! from them since the nomination of Mr. 
ArnoKI, ^hrit has not teemed with gro>s por«^'Oi:al 



Abuse, and with direct charges or insinuations afTcct- 
ing his moral character i>nd principles. But misrep- 
resentations published in newspapers are too soon and 
easily confuted to work much misch'ef. The poHt- 
ical enemies of Mr. Arnold being sensible of this ob- 
stacle to tlie success of their efl'orts, sometime ago 
caused to be prepared and circulated, at first, in the 
interior and distant towns, as privately as possible a 
pamphlet containing tlie most shameless and w antou 
attacks upon tlie ciiaracter of respectable citizens, 
which have ever been witnessed in this State. This 
pamphlet contains two principal accusations against 
Mr. Arnold and Mr. Jas. F. Simmons jointly: the 
latter of whicli gentlemen, because he is the y.ealous 
and valued friend of Mr. Arnohl, appears to have 
become peculiarly obnoxious to his adversaries. 

The Committee havecar^tiilly and thorougldy ex- 
amined both these cliarges, and all others that the 
pamphlet in question contains, and will proceed to 
lay before the f: eemen the result of their investigation. 
The most prominent and slanderous charge is in 
sub-tance as follows, vix: I'hat Messrs. Arnold and 
Simmons, as Comnnssioners of the Fa; risers and Me- 
chanics Bank, got jjossession of a mortgjige executed. 
by Wm. Harris to that Bank, on 192 shares in the 
stock of the Providence and Paw tucket East Turn- 
pii<e Company. Tlint tliose >hares were $C0 each, 
and amounted to $9.()(10, and that the Bank had ai 
interest in them to tiiat amount, by virtue of sai 
mortgage, 'i'hat Harris (heing insolvent,) as^signt 
all his right, title and interest in those shares to Mr, 
N. Searle and others, his ai^signees, subject to the 
lien of the Bank. That " in Dec. SSiO,'' (says the 
j)antphlet) the assignees offered for sale at public auc- 
tion Harris' interest in s;iid shares, and that Me?sr«. 
, A. and 8. became the |>iirciutseis thereof lor }^'-:97(\ 
- 75, on their own iiKh'vid'ml account. That the same 
V rs paid Jan. 4, ISSO, by rn otiket en the morignge 
either in cush or by note of Mefsrs, A. and S. alanv 
r^te that they became rrspondUe t;. the Hni.k il'r 



that amount. The pamphlet, after making a nnm- 
ber of contradictory insinuations, — such as that the 
Commissioners made the purchase in anticipation ot 
tiieir commission, and that they purchased in the bills 
of the Bank at twenty-five per cent discount, and 
turned them into the bank at par, to the amount of 
the purchase money; proceeds to assert that the two 
commissioners, as trustees, appeared at the assignee s 
sale and became the real purchasers for their own 
benefit; and virtiiallfi disreiiai^ded and cnncellcd the 
nwi^lgui^e btlonjing to the Bank, and no longer 
treated it as the property of the Bank. And this 
charge of corruption on tlie part of the commission- 
ers and fraud upon the Bank, is kept up throughout 
the pamphlet, and repeatedly presented in the most 
aggravated terms. 

The grossest impudence and absurdity of such a 
cliarge must be apparent to any man who will take 
tlie trouble to examine it for a single moment. — 
How could the purchase of the equity of redemption 
in tliose shares by the Commissioners or any other 
])ersons, at all affect the Bank's mortgage on them; 
if anv such mortgage had existed? How could it 
be made to operate as a discharge of such a mort- 
gige? How could the purchase money for the equi- 
ty of redemption be paid to any body but the assign- 
ees of Harris, who sold it for the benefit of his (Har- 
ris') creditors, fo l)e dislributed agreeably to his as- 
signment? Mow could it be otlset on the supposed 
mortgage of the Bank; or how could the purchasers 
be responsible to the Bank for the payment of money 
which tlie assignees alone had a right to receive and 
give a dicharge for? 

Fortunately, the Committee arc not under the ne- 
cessity of dwelling upon these inconsistencies; for it 
has turned out and is at least, confessed by the libel- 
lers themselves, (after making all the use in their 
power of the fabrication) that no such mortgage or 
lien as they had asserted to be lu^ld by the Bank ev- 
a-r existe*!; nud tliat of coiu-se no pnrcjiase monejr 



was ever offset on any such mortgage: that the 
commissioners were never responsible to the Bank 
for any such money: — That no bills of the Bank 
were ever purchased in at 25 pr. ct. discount by said 
Commissioners and turned into the Bank at par to 
the amount of said purchase money: That no mort- 
gage belonging to the Bank was ever discharged or 
cancelled by said Commissioners; and, in short, that 
the whole story, from beginning to end was a sheer 
fabrication. But although these false accusations 
against Mr. Arnold, are eilectually defeated and put 
down, yet the Committee are of opinion that so 
barefaced and base an outrage upon the character of 
respectable citizens, and so unprincipled an imposit- 
ion upon the community, ought not to be passed ov- 
er without being thoroughly exposed. It appears, 
that after a number of copies of this pamphlet had 
been secretly sent out of town and circulated, the 
authors of it, to guard against being indicted when 
they should be detected; pretended to have discov- 
ered an error oy mistake in the pamphlet, which 
they were desirous of correcting. And to keep up 
this show of correction, they print a short note on a 
blank page of the pamphlet, in which they slightly 
mention the pretended error. Whoever reads this 
note with attention, will be convinced of two things : 
1st. That the author of it and of the pamphlet,, 
never was under any mistake, as he pretends, in re- 
lation to the false statements he makes, but that he 
knew they were false when he made them: and 2d, 
That the note was contrived and intended to be us- 
ed to skreen the author in case of a prosecution; and 
in the mean time to interfere as httle as possible with 
the purposes which those calumnies were calculated 
to answer. The author of the pamphlet assures his 
•eaders, — those whom he selected to send it to — that 
us ''statements are derived from a uthentic sources," 
Ind he then goes on to state as positive facts, that 
lie Bank held a mortgage on the 192 turnpike 
j^ei, amounting to |9,<)00; and that the purdiase 



money of the equity of redemption was offset on the 
mortgajjje, — stating precisely the date of the offset to 
iiave been Jan. 4, ISjJO. ilow came he to suppose 
the existence of things wliich never did exist? A 
man may mistake in stating facts wliich have some 
foundation: but when things are positively stated as 
facts, which iiave not a shadow of existence, and 
ne\er.(iid exist; this is not error or mistake, it is 
sheer fabrication and falsehood. But this Iibell<^ 
convicts himself of iiaving made these false state- 
ments know ingly nnd wilfully. He states (page 4th 
first pampiilet) that the ]>urchase money for the equi- 
ty of redenq3tion was offset on the mortf^-agc, Jan. 
•i, 1839. Tliis flict (of the day of tlie oflset) he 
could only ascertain from the assignees of WiHiam 
Harris, who had sold those shares: probably from 
Mr. N. Searle, who we nnderstand, kept the ac- 
counts of the assignees proceedings: and at the same 
time that he ascertained the date of the payment 
of the purchase money he ascertained also that that 
payment was to the assignees themselves, and was 
not ofiset on the mortgage as he positively asserts.— 
And their pampiilet contains in itself other intriPisic, 
and conclusive evidence that the author knew per- 
fectly well that the statements he was making for the 
purpose of building upon them the grossest accusa- 
tions of corruption, dishonesty and fraud against 
Messrs. Arnold and Simmons were utterly false.' — 
From his style of writing and his descanting upon 
what he calls ''the plain and well setil-ed principles 
in chancerij,'^'^ governing Trust Funds, and his lay 
ingdown the law applica!)le to the respective rights of 
a mortgagee and of the holder of the equity of redemp- 
tion, it is evident that he is professionally a lawyer, 
of some grade or otjjer. But even if he is not a 
liwver, and is merely possessed of the ordinary share 
of inforniatiou which is possesed by the generality 
/eii of uuv'diicated business men, he could not fail 
xr> know tliat the statements he was making, ^tz:— 
That tlie purchase money of the equity of redemp- 



17 

tliat it should so revert to the public: for in 1S08 and 
1S')9, more than twenty years prior to the petition in 
q lestion, i^, (the liCji^ishitiu'e,) hiid pasvsed acts, in 
a hiition to the charter of the West 'rurnpike C<>n> 
pmv, expressly to empower that Company to put 
iheir to!is as low as it pleased, and thereby to per- 
pet late their right in the road. Under such circiini' 
stances, uiiat possible impropriety could there be in 
tlie petition of the East Turnpike Company for a nn- 
ion? Take it either way, eitlier that the road was 
not expected to revert to the public, or that tlie State 
intended to take it to itself, and what impropriety 
c )uld there be in the petition? Let us consider. If 
t'le road was not to reveri, but uas to continue the 
property of t!ie Company, there could certainly be 
no objection, on the part of the State, to the unior. — 
tlie p \b\\c wo dd be l)ene(itted by it, they would liave 
tlie use of two good roads instead of one, without 
any increase of tolls. Tiie Geneial Assembly had 
clia'tered the Ea^t Turnpike Company because it 
(O'risidered that Tin'npike a useful and necessary one; 
lh-» p'op'e of Providence and rawticket also consid-^ 
ered it a useful road. Why tiien should it be left to 
go down? — On the other hand, if the road is to re- 
vert to the State, and to be held by it as a valuable 
property, and a great and lasting source of revenue, 
tlien the East 'I'urnpike Company would have no 
object in being imited with the other; for the increase 
of the toils of the r.est road 33 per cent above wliat 
they were, w^ouUI give sufficient travel to the East 
road f il!y to satisfy its pro[)rietors. That tliis W(mld 
be the eillH t of the West road's becoming the prop- 
erty of the State, is to be inferred from the law pass- 
ed in Oitober last, r- ' '^-<x tlie tolls 33 percent, and 
the calcnla ions ma«'( by Gov. Fenner in his leKerof 
l!th inst to Col. R.\^,s, atid by tlie author of this 
pamphlet, as to the great increase of profits to be de- 
rived by the State from that road, \\hich it is sup- 
posed would amoMRt to about $0,C00. And accord^ 
ingiy we find that since the appoifiitinent of the Com- 



IS 

inittee at June Session of the General Assembly, 
1830, .ind expectations have been excited, Ihat the 
West road might become the property of the SI tate, 
the petition of tlie East Tuinpilve Company has iiev 
or been called up. 

Providence^ April 9, 1831. 

I hereby certify that the petition of the town of North 
Proviclence for the Slate to rebuild and repair ilie Bridge 
over Pautucket river, in the village of Pau tucket, or ic 
grant to the town of North Providence the necessary means 
of doing it; was not presentel to the tJeneral Assembly till 
the June Session, 1830. Tl)at the signers of the petition, 
therein state lliat they are ''a committee appointed l^y the 
freemen of North Providence on the 21>l day of April 183J 
to inspect the bridge at the village of Pawtucket, and the 
propriety of repairing the same. ' 

I further certify that the petition of "Wm. P. A!l 3n and 
Others, stockholders of the Pawtucket and Providence Eut 
Turnpike Corporation, for power to unite itself with ihe 
Providence and Pawtucket Turnpike CorporEt'on, was call- 
ed up at the June Session, 1S3'J, and postponed to the next 
Session. And immediately alter said postponement, a com- 
mittee was appointed to examine the books, &c. of the 
Providence and Pawtucket Turnpike Corporation, to re- 
port at the next session. — That since the appointment of 
said connnittee, said petition of Wm. P. Allen et al, has not 
been called up nor acted upon. 

Attest, WM. S. PATTEN, 
Clerk House Representatives. 

Upon a full view, therefore, of this transaction, in 
every possihle shape in ^vilich it can be placed, 'v\hat 
shadow of impropriety was (here in the petition for 
a union, at the time that petition was preferred? 
"What member of either House, then saw any such 
impropriety in it? Not one, we are confident; for it 
was not then discovered that ^ plain and simple pcti- 
tion before the General Assembly could he nuide use 
of to produce political effect. 'J'he petition was first 
called up and advocated at the Jan. session, 1S30, 
by Mr. E. R. Potter. The same petition having 
been aflerwards referred to the Committee on corpo- 



15 

rations, of which that gentleman, (Kr. Potter) was 
('iuiinnin, he, at th':; June sor.sion, 1830, reported 
t'le bii! for uniting the t'.vo roads, Avhicli is now on the 
files of the Ho ;se, :ind wiiicli he tlicn strenuously ad- 
vocated, making', in the course of liis arguments the 
following remarks, viz: *'lle, (said Mr. Potter,) was 
of t!ie Coinmittee wiio reported the act of union, and 
saw no objection to the House's adopting it. All 
the parties had been represented before them, (the 
Commitlee) and he believed that the public interest 
would be promoted by the contemplated union of the 
two ro ids." Major Bull, also one of the members 
f oin Newport, approved of the object of the petition, 
and promised to give it his aid. Are these two re- 
sp 'ctuble leaders of the Jackson party chargeable 
\\ith having lent their aid to an attempt to speculate 
upon the Junch of the Statel Are all the other 
stockholders of the East Turnpike Company who, as 
well as Mr. A. and S. signed the same petition; are 
the town of North- Providence and its Committee, 
[including Mr. Edward Randall liimself,] ail to be 
subjected to the same charge of corruption? 

There are also a nundjer of minor charges in the 
same pamphlet against Messrs. A. i$- S. which the 
( ommittee think it scarcely necessary to notice par- 
ticularly. One of them is that the Taivn of JS'orlh 
Prr}viil'^nc('. was overreached ardmost egregi usly 
t 'kzn in by those gentlemen. *' 'I his in efiect, (says 
the pauiphlet) was enabling t!:ese gentlemen, (Messrs 
A. <&/ 8.) to realize out of the good cilizens of the 
Town of JVoi th Providence^ luhose votes are now 
solicited to elect Mr Arnold, GctJ^rnor of the 
State, the neat and handsome profit of six himdred 
and ninety doHars," &c. No doubt the go- d citi^ 
zp.ns of N. P. will duly appreciate the very friendly 
solicitude th- s expressed for them. But as to the 
charge itself, the gross falsehood of it, is shown by 
the following te;jtimony of two of that tawn's Cues* 
iQaittee upon the subject in questioiLr 



20 

We the Commince of the town of North Provi= 
^ence, appointed to confer with the prnpiiclors of ihe 
Turnpike leatlmg fr()m;t*rovidenc'e to 1 ^^^tucket, and make 
an arrangement in relation to the rcbu 1']'"^ or repaying thp 
bridge ov«r Pawtucki^ Falls, and pei'^im to tlie General 
Assembly in relation to the same, ha\ C exam red a |an> 
piilet, the first ami the cnnecled ropy ibeieot, ptihl'sl rd at 
tlie Herald nffi e in P,ov.d(Mice, charging Mr. L II. Antol ! 
anil James F. Simmons with an attempt to specujalate fu 
t'lefuids of the. SUitc, and of overrcac hing tlie town of North 
providence in an arrange^neni made wiih iis lor thjat town. 
\Ve consider it due to those gentliMncn as well as to our- 
selves as a Comm'ttee of the town, to s-taie that u e called 
on them in pursuance of our appointment and proposed to 
them an arrangement for rehuJJnig and re|)a''ring and ma'"- 
taining said bridge, provided the;r petition to ( lie Gene f.l 
Assembly for a un'on should be siraule I and the un'on take 
place. That in our conversation on this subject and allud- 
ing to the probabMty that they would make a prcfji on il.eir 
p'.nxdiase they did not so consider it, and offered the Com- 
m'ttee their Stock in said Rast Turnpike at just what it had 
cost tlie-n — which we decl net\. 

Th-^ charges in tin s ' pampldets, ofthe town's ! o'-!g over- 
reached or that theie was a condition that the town woidd 
be obliged to take the stock at an advance or | irft, is 
wholly unfounded in fact. Neither the town or its c t zens 
were obliged to take tlie stock at any |)rice, the mere privi- 
lege of taking some of it at the original cost, was obtained 
ai the request of one of the committee. 

IMCHD. ANTHONY, 
NATHAN A. DROWN. 

J^orth Providence^ ) 
Jlpril 12, 1831. \ 

*Th3 signature of one»of the Committee was not obtained, in 
consequence of not being able to liaJ him in time. 

Tlie following certificate of the Treasurer of tbe 
Kast Tanipilie t'orp-iration will show t'lat no mm- 
ner o^ reliance can be placed on the calculations and 
assertions contained in the pamphlet {\<io the amount 
of t'le c.ipit il stock of that company or tlic par vaJ- 
ne of the shares. 

I hereby certify, that I am ihe Treasurer of the Pawtuck- 
et and Providence Ea.st Turnpike Corporation, and have the 
books and records thereof— That 1 havereadapauiphlut rs= 



cently iss-iei fro'n tho IlTrn] I oihiz \n Providence, enlitlni, 
'■'■Jillemplti Specuhition,'''' rdiI know thai tlie statements tliei^e- 
in cdutainel, as it relates to die amoiuit of he sioek tians- 
ferie I by the assgnees of \V,ii ajn liaiiis, and also as to the 
other stateaients of the caa'f.ii sjock of said Tiinipke Cor- 
poralio!], are erroneous, auu ciiiculated to i?ec'ei\'e. 

WILLIAM P. ALLLN. 

Tho Committee lie-e concl ide tluMr exaniinnt'on cS 
t"ie (;!i:i;-n-es coatiiiiied in tins most scauda'oLis oaci- 
phlet. 

In jji-t p?rK);!>r.ir:ce of the firtjerd-tv with wli'ch 
thcv were cliarg'^ci, hy the Freemen^ — t'l-it of ei:de;i- 
voring- to t •ace t!iOse t'lia-gvs to their o igiii — our of 
<"iie co.niirttee, in eoinpany \^ itii ;Mr. Aviio'd, calk d 
at the p.-iiitingo'Iict^ foni vvliich the paiii'^'dct a.ypr.-jrs 
to hive bee!) issised, fo/ the purpose vS (!« maiuiii 2^ 
the name ofi's a it!io\ '['lie dennnd was inu'e hy 
hi'-. Arnold, of the p -inter, •.* ho repl:e(l t'iat he en ild 
not at p;f^.sent r^h.e the nanieof th.eautlio.-, b.two.dd 
some other thue. 

'V\\-\i a mm who co d I he g dliy of inventirg rm 1 
pihiisliing s !cli execrable cal nmiies sho'ild wish to 
keep in c;)aceahiient is not to be wondered at. I'or- 
t inat>' wo lid it be if he was in leed a solitary objrcc 
of (liso- 1st. ' If he bad no coidj ito's. 1:0 co mse lors, 
110 aiders and abet'o s: foit mat*" if there were r.one 
to rejoice in the poisono ts ellect of bis slandeis, and 
g,-eedily, tho igh slily, to p-ofit bv them. f^ 

B it when we know that hundreds of these very 
libels, vile as they are, are circidrited all over the 
h^cite, w.t'i the g-eatest activity, even by some of the 
leaders of the party, to serve wlio>e cause it was fab 
ricirted. b/ men who are perfectly well acquainted 
wivh the inj n-ed pirties, and have often exp essed 
the h'ghest respect and re<xa d for them, and who 
know the c'ir'g?s aj:ain t those gentlemen, to wisic'ii 
they a.'e th is endeavoring to give cirrency atKl cilVct, 
to h2 mo^t.ij-o^sly filse and scanda'o is— how can v.e 
Lope that this slanderer has not his fellows. 

It is a fact wMch caimat fall to excite the most 



piinf il rerToct'ions, that tli:it rery pamphlet hact beet? 
imoit'ent y expected in distant pii'ts of the Su'itefor 
several weeks past; unci that it 'aas ^^cIl kiioun 
whdl were ti^. be t'le p-iiicipul topics of it long beti)re 
it was issii. d. Wlien we re.lect ii])Oii these thinifs, 
Ave cannot bit fear that there are too many men 
among us wlio will not hesitate to sacrifice all tliat is 
sicred, nor to cherisli all that is foul, il by so doing 
they can bit promote their own political purposes. 
What will the so'^er minded, reflecting people of this 
State think, when they come to read the subjoined 
correspondence between Mr. Arnold and Governor 
F nner, and ^md that tlie latter gentleman was in- 
f »rmed, several days before it came oat, that this 
scandalois libel uasin preparation, and would soon 
be p ihlisiied us. less he expressed his disappre'eatioa 
o[ it, ;ind tiiat he refis d to lift his tinger to p:-event 
its appearance, altlio jgh well he knew, that, being 
written to serve his ca ise, the slig!itest expression of 
his Avis es wo:dd have been suffic ent to S5ippress it. 

We f.u4 ass ired that tlie people ot this state will 
not c-^ nitenance s !ch conduct. They w dl not look 
on witii apathy, when some of the worthiest of their 
f/llo.v citizens a;*e biseiy calinnniated, and the calum- 
niito* is p it.'oiiiisd by men in aut!io;-ity. The inter- 
est w!j;cii the comm mity feel in t!ie reputation of its 
members, is one of the happiest tiis of Society. It 
is in this interest that private character finds its se- 
cu-ity, its s ippot antl reward. Laws Uiay protect 
o w p-o )erty, b ito n* reputation are in the guardian- 
sdp oftlie p d)!ic. It is by oue co imion consent, 
ail imp ilse, th it private cliaracter is held sacred; 
au'l he who would m ike it his sport or his prey, is 
ever an object ofdistrust and aversion. In whatever 
sha>2 he a-^oears, ia the sight of all menj he is odi- 
ous. 

Providence^ SDf.'t .Ifarc/i, 1831. 

Sii — When tli's politirnl canvass coinmenceJ, I bad rea» 
son to hope >1!k1 believe, that all malignant attacks of a pri- 
vito or peraona! cuaracte? would be avoldod, and that tb« 



13 

mutual c;ood understanding between us woiiid not neeessnri" 
\y be thereby interrupted. Although the two papers in iliis 
town friendly to your election, have descended to pcrsoiial- 
ities, and liave falsely assailed my private conduct and char- 
acter, I have forborne to complain, because it was done |)ub- 
I'cly, and so far as it was worthy of notice, it could easily be 
refuted. 

But, sir, 1 have been informed that some of your political 
friends have now in the press, if not in circulation, a pamph- 
let containin<r; the most wanton, malicious and groundless 
charges and insinuations ajrainsl me and some of n)y ))erson- 
al friends, and that they intend circulating it secretly thvovz,h- 
oui t!ie State, on the eve of election, too late to allow of 
its calumnies or its authors to be expo«ed. 

The h'gh op'nion I entertnin of yoiu* principlei of honor 
and sense of propriety, forl)ids the hel ef tliat yo i would W r 
a momeni coimtenance so base a procediue. or that you 
would s>ifFer it if known to you. I have therefore taken ilie 
liberty to notify you of it, that you may in j istice to your- 
self as wi^ll us to me, take the necessary steps to suppress 
it, or such parts of it as are not fomuled in truth. I am the 
more strongly persuaded that you will readily adopt this 
course, since your refusal or neglect to do so, will lead to 
the unequivocal inference tiiat you sanct on or approve of 
it, or at least are willing to ava 1 yourself of it. I would not 
liave you or any one else suppose thai I fear the strictest 
scrutiny on any proper occas,on; and if your friends deem 
it necessary to secure you- election to go into an investiga- 
tion of my private transactions, I give them my free and fill 
consent to state ja^>'lj and openlj every public or private 
transaction of my life. 

I am respectfully yr. obt. servt. 

Sign.!. L. 11. ARNOLD. 

To his Exy. 

James FeiNner. 



Prnvidence, J\Tarch oOth, 1831. 

Sir — Yours of yesterday's date was handed to me this af- 
ternoon. 

Tluis far in the present pol'tical canvass I have not con- 
sidered you to be resjionsible for any thing which might in- 
terrupt " our tnutual good understanding." 

You address yourself to me, presuming, as it would seem, 
thai I control or inflience the measures of f.lefence which are 
adopted by my friends.— It is not so, — It must be known to 



24i 



yon, as to otliors, that 1 have been cnnfined to my botise by 
y > lis'jos'tion for more than two months, anci t!iai I have not 
h I i ) ') ;.s-) 1 il ;ii;e 1 '.y in a ly pol.ticul move.neiit. 

A- yo I intro luce into yo'ir note, in a lone of complaint, 
th3 t'.r."e^ pi^)or-; wli'f'.i are (iirn:slie:l weekly in snjjuoft of 
!Mv (^h^clion. w 11 yo i have the ^^ooJiiess to Ite-tow a tlionght 
c 1 lh:> roirie>).» or sixtee i wli c.li iippeMi- we-.-kly to clei'amG 
m:) an I lo sMj)i)ort yoi? I am not lUToniitahle for the lan^ 
eiaH;^ of onr_ paper-;, for I neither hn'n'sli matter for t!ie 
})ress, nor visit to join in the s.rtiialcf an/ ojjir.e. If, Itow- 
ever, the langna-^e of onr rei^ihhmn pnper.s is calculated to 
exc'te vo'ir sens h litv, what, '!o yo;i think, shojl.l be the 
efl'' •! of i!u' Uic'^ m ycrn- own? 

Ifthei-ehe in iho '' pi-eis," oi- in " circulation," a pnntph- 
let of t!i ; character yf) i me it on. yo i are better informe 1 
oi t'le sihj'?*;! t'lan myself. Von :\re ri<z;ht in the ophiioii 
that I nevei* shill "-^ co lule la tee" a ly t !i ns; '' ha^;'^;" a:i I 
niorl'fie 1 a)i 1 h:i:iihlp,|, inh^e I. s'lonjl I feel, coul.l I snp- 
j)o>e thit my pollical fr en !s wonlJ MiQcr, in their moral 
q lalitie^, hv a coniparlso.i with the ppl.tical friendo of any 
oth-r o;p'iile nan. 

I 1 atre iijitn.;, by " imeqn'vonai inference," to make me 
|-es'j'V!s"i)ie for the a -ts of othei'^, are yon aware, sir, of tiie 
crisiiirr 1 VI I of responsib i.ty w!i ch yonr lo£;ic imposes «»-ii 
yo n-self? .Vm I to co is: ler yon acconntaMe f.)r all ilie false- 
lioirhnnd left nation nga nU n e vith wl; chyonr papers have 
tpe ,jo 1 since vou have been a candidate for office? Are yon 
will n-T to a-sn:ns that responsibil ty, and to becoine amena- 
ble to m:3 accordins; to i\\^ laws of oir cou itry? I have been 
fir, verv fir, from as;'r b'n;i to you even n tiU'e of the abnse 
an I vnl"- iritv w:i!t wh;( h f liave been a-sa le I— Yet yonr 
reasonin'j;, " '»y nneq I'vo-al infeience," leads to the bebef, 
"that von sancthin or approve of it, or at least are wiliinj^ 
to ava 1 v'vnr-.elf of it 

Wiiile I jii'otest a,i;ainst all responsibirty for the conduct 
nf others, yon mav re-t as^'u-e I that ne'iber yourself, nor 
an- oi'.i^r citiz?) s'nll have jiu ca ise of complaint against 
I'M for an i i'", d'.vial a2;'i;res >;o i on private rights, nor, per- 
ban^, evei by ina Ivertence. 

R ;sjK3 -tf dlv your obt. servt. J. FENXCR. 

LEMUEL II. AltNOLD, Es-j. 



St7-_T rec'd. yours of thcoOih, in answer to my note of 
the 2Dth inst. au.! an bai>py to have your tciheony that 
notbinsjhHS transpired on my part to disturb our friendly re- 
lations? 1 am a little surprised, however, that yon could 



2$ 

liave misunderstood the object of my letter. I bad bo in- 
tention of detracting from the " moral qualities" of "your 
political friends," rior of denying the high and responsible 
character of "the three papers which are furnished weekly 
in support of your election," nor do I mean, for the reason 
mentioned, to complain of their pejsonal abuse, nor boast of 
the number and respectability of the papers that have es- 
poused our cause, nor will I shrink from assuming the "re- 
sponsibility" of any "libels" published in our papers agamst 
your Excellency with my knowledge^ and without a decided 
expression of my disapprobation. 1 did not expect my " logic" 
would have produced such a "crushing load" of interroga- 
tories. 

Having answered these, allow me to ask your attention 
to that^ pai:t, in fact the sole object of my note, which ap- 
pears almost to have escaped your notice. I refer to the 
" pamphlet," and the time and manner of it sintended circu- 
lation. 

My information came through one of your " political 
friends," and had credulity enough to suppose that it might 
be true. Were I thus notified I should feel it my duty to in- 
(fuire^ and if I found the fact to be so, to exert my influence 
to suppress falsehood and scandal, even if it were to be 
used against a political oponent, and to promote my own 
election. I do not ask you to " influence the measures of de- 
fence," but aggression. Would any one believe that any re- 
quest you should make as to the mode of advocating your 
own cause would not be complied with by thepres^e? devot- 
ed'to your service.'' Am I to understand by your " protest 
against all responsibility for the conduct of others," that if 
you are informed of the publication of a false and scandal- 
ous pamphlet, you will not aitev.ipt to interpose your influence 
to prevent its circulation.'' If so, will it not "lead to the un- 
equivocal inference that you sanction and approve of it, or 
at least, are Vv'illing to avail yourself of it.'" The propriety 
of the course appears to me so plain, I ought not to doubt 
for a nioment that you would exert your influence in such a, 
case. I only wished your assurance to that effect to pre- 
vent a resort to personalities on our part by way of ;' de- 
fence," which I should very much regret. Believe me, 
when I assure you, my note to you was dictated by friend- 
ship, love of truth, and a desire to have this political can- 
vass conducted upon open, fair, and hGnorahU principles. 
I am very respectfully vour obi. ser'-'t. 

Signed, ' ' LEMUEL H, ARNOLD. 
Tg his Ex«ri|>Uency 

James Ft^.NEH. 



f5 

Providence ^ April td, 1851. 
SiR — Id reply to joor Bote of last evening, I have to ask, 
only, that you give to me the nanne of my "political friend," 
from whom you received the information which has caused 
so much alarm. Respectfully your obt. servt. 

J. FENNER. 
Leml. H. Arnold, Esq. 

Providence, JlprilS, 18SI. 

Sir— -I have delayed answering your last note in conse- 
quence of the absence of my informant. In lieu ofthe name 
of your " political friend," through whom my informaiion 
came, I have the honor of presenting to your Excellency 
two copies of the pamphlet alluded to, both of which are 
now circulating in the country. I would ask yonr careful 
attention to both editions, and refer your Excellency to Mr. 
Searle's letter, published in the Journal and American of this 
morning. You can then judge whether my information was 
well founded, and whether I had any just cause of comijlaint, 

I am respectfully your obt. servt. 

Signed, L. H. ARNOLD. 

His Exy. James Fenner. 

N. B. I will thank your Excellency to return the copy- 
marked, " R. B." as I have no other of that edition. 



Another anonimous pamphlet, under the title of 
"A Landholder," has been sometime in circu- 
lation. Its object is to set the farmer against all the 
other classes oif his f tllow-citizens. This device has 
grown too stale to produce any efl'ect at this tii^e of 
day. The farmers are gravely informed and assured 
in the pamphlet, that Mr. Arnold, and all the Sena- 
torial candidates in the Prox with him, are deadly 
enemies to the country interest. That they will be 
in favor of repealing the Bank tax, and all the other 
taxes by which tlie revenue of the State are at pres- 
ent raised; and finally, that it is their design to lay 
all taxes upon the land. What assurance have the 
landholders that this nameless writer tells them the 
truth? What assvn-ance that he has not taken their 
name for the purpose of imposing on them? What, 
that he lias not written this pamphlet to answer his 
own ends? 



27 

This great friend of the Farmers is endeavoring: 
to persuade them that Mr. A. and all his friends 
will act directly against their own interest. Mr. 
Arnold's property is nearly all in real estate, and if 
the present system of taxing is changed, his portion 
of a tax on the land would be twenty times more 
than he now has to pay. All the other candidates 
are similarly situated, they are all of them real land- 
holders, and nearly every one of them is a farmer by 
profession and practice. 



TO THE LANDHOLDERS OF RHODE-ISLAND. 
Bank and Land Tax. 

A very injurious report having been circulated in the 
country, that the National Republican candidates are in fa- 
vor of repealing the Tax on Banks, and substituting in its 
place an oppressive Land tax, we have felt it a duty to 
make a direct and written enquiry of each of the candidates 
as to the opinions he holds on this interesting subject. To 
a letter addressed, by a member of this committee, to the 
candidates, separately, we have seen the replies of each of 
these gentlemen, which are most direct and satisfactory. — 
They utterly deny the truth of this rumor, and treat its im- 
putations as a malicious publication. 

Of the gentlemen nominated as candidates for the Senate, 
Messrs. Benjamin Smith, Stephen B. Cornell, and Thomas 
Whipple, were members of the Assembly when the law im- 
posing the Bank-tax was enacted. They then voted in favor 
of this tax^ and are still in favor of it. Messrs. Stephen 
Steere, Hezekiah Bosworth, Samuel W. King, Wager Wee- 
den, Duty Arnold, Ethan Foster and William Smith, were 
not at that time members of the Senate; but they have al- 
ways been friendly to the tax in question, and are now upon 
principle., totally opposed to its dimimdion or repeal. With re- 
spect to the opmions of Mr. Arnold, and Gov. Collins, 
it is proper to add, that they concur, entirely, in these sen- 
timents of their colleagues, and as they were always satis- 
fied of the justice of this tax, so they now are for main- 
taining It with firmness and moderation, and as an indispen- 
sable branch of the Revenue of the State. 

As to the extraordinary suggestion, that the candidates 
nominated in the N. R. Prox, (who are all of them Land- 
holders,) are supposed to be favorable to a tajc on land^ ths 
xnofit onerous imposition upon their own prop^rtv — -it vf 



S8 

scarely necessary to say, that it is utterly repudiated by 
each of these gentlemen, and is surely not entitled to aay 
serious consideration. 

We u^U add that the letters referred to in the preceding 
statements are now in the hands of Dr. John P. Mann, of 
Newport, and are open to the inspection of such of our 
fellow-citizens as are disposed to consult them. 

JNO. P. MANN, 
WILLIAM BATEMAN^ 
GEO. IRISH, 
C. E. ROBBINS. 
^pril, 183L 



I, Joseph Wheelock, Cashier of th^ Merchants Bank, 
Providence, do hereby certify tliat I have received since 
last October, and still cont'nue to take at our Bank, the bills 
of the Farmers and Mechanics Bank, on the same terms that 
I take any of the bills of other banks out of this town. 

JOS. WHEELOCK, Cash. 

Providence, ^pnl \2th, 1831. 

The forgoing statements, documents and remarks 
are respecti'ully submitted to the Freemen, by their 
Committee. 

WILLL\M PABOmE, JOHN WHIPPLE, 

WILLIAM CHURCH, ZACIIARIAH ALLEN, 

SILVANUSG. MARTIN, BENJAMIN ABORN. 

DEXTER ANGELL, JESSR METCALF, 

ISAAC BROWN, WILLIAM SHELDON, 

MATHEW WATSON, ABNER PECKH AM, 
HENRY R GREEN. 

Providmce, April 14th, 1831. 



